This recipe was kindly donated by a dear friend of mine Kate-Mary. Kate-Mary was my flatmate many years ago at a time when my cooking skills were sub standard to say the least.
Kate was one of the main reasons I began to experiment with cooking especially around the array of spices I use today. She was and always will be the queen of chickpea recipes to me and for this reason, this recipe blog is dedicated to Kate. Thankyou for inspiring me to create recipes with legumes.
What I adore about this dish is the sheer simplicity of it. It truly only took 10 minutes to prepare before it was simmering beautifully in the oven.
Another reason I am a fan of this dish is because it is a wonderful vegetarian or vegan dish whilst still having a good source of protein – chickpeas. I see many people consciously reducing meat without thinking of how they will continue to eat good quality plant-based proteins.
Another star performer ingredient in this recipe is garlic. 10 small cloves or 8 or so larger cloves majestically contribute to the health benefits of this tasty tandoori masterpiece.
My love affair with garlic is purely based on the enormous health benefits it provides.
Allicin, S-allylcysteine and other compounds are the therapeutically active ingredients in garlic responsible for the enormous health benefits and if it was made in a laboratory rather than by mother nature, it would most certainly be a high-priced prescription drug let me tell you! Thank you mother nature.
Not only has it been used medicinally for over 3,000 years but recent scientific studies now confirm what naturopaths have been raving about for centuries.
Garlic has been shown to reduce cholesterol, prevent atherosclerosis and blood clotting, reduce high blood pressure all the while protecting your gut and body against bacterial and fungal infections. Basically, it is a natural antibiotic that works against many species that are antibiotic resistant which is why it is always a part of my bacterial overgrowth treatment protocol for clients that have certain digestive issues.
The liver also loves garlic with studies finding that eating sulfur-rich vegetables of which garlic is the queen, reduces oxidative stress due to its impact on increasing glutathione levels. Glutathione is the bodies main antioxidant and plays an important role in liver detoxification processes.
Have I convinced you of the many health benefits of this dish yet?
What is most special however is that it is absolutely scrumptious and suits vegetarians, vegans and those that prefer a gluten free, dairy free diet.
I don’t eat dairy so instead of a yoghurt side dish, I use tahini. I have provided recipes for both options so you can decide. You can also serve it with warm pita bread (gluten free if you desire) or alternatively you can serve it on a bed of rice or quinoa. It is so very versatile in that way.
This dish serves four people or alternatively it is great for a single person or a couple as I always find that dishes with spices taste even better the next day as left-overs.
Ingredients
Tandoori chickpeas
- 2 x 400g tins organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 10 small garlic cloves or 8 large cloves, peeled and left whole
- 30g fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into thin strips
- 300g cherry tomatoes
- 3 red chillies, sliced lengthways
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 ½ tsp coconut sugar
- 200ml olive oil
- Salt to taste
- 1 -2 cups of baby spinach
Yoghurt Dressing (Dairy version)
- 15g mint leaves, chopped roughly
- 30g coriander leaves, chopped roughly
- 180g Greek-style yoghurt
- 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice
- 1 crushed garlic clove
Tahini Dressing (vegan & dairy free version)
- 6 tablespoons tahini
- 3-4 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
- 6 tablespoons filtered water
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- ¼ tsp cumin
- Several grinds of fresh salt & pepper
To serve
pita bread or white/brown rice or quinoa
Instructions
Pre heat your oven to 170C.
Place the chickpeas, garlic cloves, ginger, cherry tomatoes, spices, coconut sugar, tomato paste, olive oil and a few grinds of salt in an ovenproof dish with a lid. Stir to combine and place the chillies on top.
Now place the lid on top and cook in the oven for 90 minutes.
Halfway through your cooking time, take out of the oven and stir.
Finally, remove from the oven once the tomatoes have broken down and the garlic cloves are soft.
Stir through the baby spinach.
Whilst your chickpea dish is cooking, to make the yoghurt dressing, place mint, coriander, lime juice, crushed garlic and yoghurt in a blender and blend.
If you are having the vegan, dairy free tahini dressing then place all of your ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Serve the chickpeas on their own with pita bread or on top of your rice or quinoa with your yoghurt or tahini dressing on top or on the side. You can even enjoy this plant based tandoori meal on its own without rice, pita bread or quinoa.
Once again, a huge thanks to the queen of the Chickpea, Kate-Mary. This has now become one of our weekly dishes in my home and it is loved by us all.
